JPS62173137A - Rectilinear guide apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make a device perform both jogging and rapid traverse motions in a highly accurate manner, by installing each sliding block at both sides of a track base of a rectilinear guide apparatus for a numerically controlled machine tool or the like via a guide mechanism. CONSTITUTION:Each needle 40 of linear motor mechanisms 6 and 7 to be installed side by side between a track base 1 and each of sliding blocks 3 and 5 is attached to each of these sliding blocks 3 and 5 via flexible members 36 and 37. Therefore, at the time of clamping these sliding blocks 3 and 5 to the track base 1, it will merely do that voltage acting on these linear motor mechanisms 6 and 7 is raised high. That is to say, an exciting part of each needle 40 is strongly excited, and each of these flexible members 36 and 37 is elastically deformed whereby each needle 40 is attracted to each of corresponding stators 30 and clamped. And, at the time of relatively shifting these sliding blocks 3 and 5 to the track base 1, if voltage acting on these linear motor mechanisms 6 and 7 is lowered to some extent, a lockup between each needle 40 and these stators 30 is released, thus these sliding blocks 3 and 5 are relatively guided to the track base 1.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field 1] This invention relates to the X-Y-
It relates to linear guide devices that guide linear reciprocating motion in sliding parts of general industrial machines such as Z-axis, automatic tool changers, automatic welding machines, injection molding machines, industrial robots, etc., and in particular performs fine movements and rapid traverse with high precision. This invention relates to an improvement of a linear guide device capable of achieving this.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, this type of linear guide device consists of a track base provided on a fixed bed and a sliding base guided along the longitudinal direction of the track base via a guide mechanism. A ball screw shaft is pivotally supported on the fixed bed, and a ball nut that is screwed onto the ball screw shaft is connected to the sliding table, and a ball spline shaft is pivotally supported on the fixed bed, and the ball An outer cylinder fitted to the spline shaft is interlocked with the ball nut via an interlocking mechanism, and further,
There is a device in which drive motors are connected to the ball screw shaft and ball spline shaft, respectively (Japanese Patent Application No. 58-198803
issue).

According to this type, by appropriately adjusting the rotational direction and rotational speed of each of the drive motors, the sliding table can be moved slightly or quickly relative to the track.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in such a conventional linear guide device, two drive motors, a ball screw, a ball spline, etc. are required to linearly move the slide table. For,
Since space must be secured for each installation, a problem arises in that the device becomes larger. Also,
In the above conventional example, since a ball screw and a ball spline are used, rotational torque may cause twisting of the ball screw shaft or ball spline shaft, or between the ball screw shaft and the ball nut or between the ball spline shaft and the outer cylinder. It is inevitable that backlash will occur between
As a result, the responsiveness of the slide table was poor, making it difficult to significantly improve positioning accuracy. Furthermore, since the ball screw and ball spline are attached to the sliding table, the weight ω of the sliding table increases, which increases the inertia of the sliding table, which worsens the response when starting and stopping. There was a problem.

Therefore, the present inventor first developed a track base that extends along the longitudinal direction, a first sliding base that is guided along the longitudinal direction of one side of the track base via a guide mechanism, and a track base that is guided along the longitudinal direction of the track base. a second sliding table guided along the longitudinal direction on the other side of the track via a guide mechanism; and a large number of widthwise extending slides provided along the longitudinal direction on the first sliding table side of the track base. The first movable element is composed of a first stator having teeth and a first movable element having a plurality of excitation parts attached to the first sliding table side while maintaining a predetermined clearance between the first stator and the first stator. a first linear motor mechanism for driving one sliding table; a second stator having a large number of teeth extending in the width direction provided along the longitudinal direction of the second sliding table side of the track; a second linear movable element having a plurality of excitation parts mounted on the sliding table side with a predetermined clearance maintained between the second stator and the second stator and driving the second sliding table; We have already provided a linear guide device consisting of a motor mechanism (Japanese Patent Application No. 59-2212).
No. 95).

According to this type, there is no need to provide a separate feeding mechanism, which allows the device to be made more compact.It also eliminates rotating parts that have rotational errors, such as ball screws and ball splines, and reduces the weight of movable parts. At the same time, it becomes possible to improve the responsiveness and positioning accuracy of the slide table.

However, even with this type, if the slide table is to be temporarily stopped at a desired point for some kind of work, it is necessary to provide a separate fixing means such as a clamp device. Providing the means separately not only requires extra space, but also increases the cost of the device.Moreover, this fixing means must be able to accommodate the high precision movement required for the linear guide device. il
A precision movement is required, and if the precision of this movement is low, the precision of the movement of the linear guide device itself will also be reduced.
There is a problem in that the balance of smooth linear guidance is lost, and there is room for improvement in this respect.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and is capable of fine movement and rapid movement without separately providing fixing means such as a feeding mechanism and a clamp device. The present invention provides a linear guide device that is capable of performing linear guide and stopping operations with high precision.

That is, the linear guide device according to the present invention includes a track base extending along the longitudinal direction, a first sliding base guided along the longitudinal direction on one side of the track base via a guide mechanism, and the track base. a second sliding table guided along the longitudinal direction of the other side of the table via a guide mechanism; and a plurality of sliding tables extending in the width direction provided on the first sliding table side of the track table along the longitudinal direction. The above-mentioned movable element is composed of a first stator having teeth of a first linear motor mechanism that drives the first sliding base; a second stator having a large number of teeth extending in the width direction provided along the longitudinal direction of the track on the second sliding base side; A second movable element having a plurality of excitation parts mounted on the second sliding table side with a predetermined clearance maintained between the second stator and the second stator, and driving the second sliding table. The movable member of each linear motor mechanism is attached to each slide table via a flexible member.

In such technical means, each linear motor mechanism interposed between the track base and each sliding base may be a variable reactance type, a permanent magnet type, or a composite type that combines these. However, in order to obtain high precision and high thrust, it is preferable to use a composite type equipped with a permanent magnet and a plurality of electromagnets in which a plurality of inductor teeth are provided at the tip of the excitation core facing the teeth of the stator. The one is good.

Further, as a method for exciting the plurality of excitation parts incorporated in the movable element of the linear motor mechanism, a one-phase excitation method is used in which a current is always applied to the movable element excitation part and the current is fed step by step. It is also possible to use a two-phase excitation method in which a two-phase current is constantly applied to the movable excitation section to feed it in steps, but it is preferable that a high thrust can be obtained and there is little damped vibration. In addition, a two-phase excitation type that can respond to a wide frequency range is desirable.

Furthermore, various types of springs such as leaf springs, stacked leaf springs, and coil springs can be used as flexible members used when attaching the movable element of each of the above linear motor mechanisms to each slide table, but the operating range is limited. It is preferable to use a plate spring for mounting, considering workability.

Furthermore, regarding the method of attaching the movable element of each linear motor mechanism to each slide table via the above-mentioned flexible member, the movable element moves relative to each slide table by the amount of deflection of the flexible member. There is no particular restriction as long as it can be installed in such a way that it can be mounted, but a preferred method is to form an opening in each sliding base and loosely fit the movable element of the linear motor mechanism into this opening using a flexible member so that it can move in the vertical direction. It is best to install it with

In addition, there are no particular restrictions on the guide mechanism installed between this track base and each sliding base, but in order to perform stable linear sliding and linear guidance, it is necessary to use a large number of balls. Linear guide ball bearings with a linear guide ball bearing and linear guide roller bearings with a large number of rollers are preferred.

Further, as a mode of use of the linear guide device according to the present invention, one sliding table may be fixedly installed on a fixed member such as a fixed bed, and the other sliding table may be moved relative to the track base. Alternatively, the track base may be fixedly installed on a fixed member, and the two movable bases may be moved relative to each other. Particularly in the former case, it is necessary to guide and support the track base with a plurality of guide and support mechanisms and to design the track base to prevent vibration during movement.

[Operation] According to the technical means described above, each movable element of the linear motor mechanism interposed between the track base and each sliding base is attached to each sliding base via a flexible member. Therefore, when fixing each sliding base to the track base, it is only necessary to increase the voltage applied to each linear motor mechanism, and the excitation part of each mover is strongly excited, which increases the flexibility of each slider. By elastically deforming the members, each movable element is attracted to and fixed to its corresponding stator, and also acts on each linear motor mechanism when moving each slide table relative to the track base. By lowering the voltage, the fixed state between each mover and the stator is released, and each slide table is guided in a straight line relative to the track table.

[Embodiments] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

1 to 5, a linear guide device according to a first embodiment of the invention is shown. The linear guide device of this embodiment includes a track base 1 extending along the longitudinal direction, a first sliding base 3 guided along the longitudinal direction on the upper surface side of the track base 1 via a guide mechanism 2, and the above-mentioned slide base 3. A second sliding base 5 guided along the longitudinal direction of the lower surface of the track base 1 via a guide mechanism 4, and a first sliding base interposed between the track base 1 and the first sliding base 3, A first linear motor mechanism 6 that drives the moving base 3; and a second linear motor mechanism 7 that is interposed between the track base 1 and the second sliding base 5 and drives the second sliding base 5. Become.

In this embodiment, the track 1 is integrally molded with a rigid rail member, and the track 1 has both left and right shoulders and both sides, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Ball rolling grooves 11 (specifically, 11a and 11b) are formed along the longitudinal direction of the hem, and the first and second linear motors are formed along the longitudinal direction of the center of the upper and lower surfaces of the track 1. A stator 30 is provided, which is a component of the mechanism 6.7.

Note that this track base 1 does not necessarily need to be formed from a single rail member, and may be formed into a split type consisting of a pair of rails and a bolster.

In addition, the first sliding table 3 and the second sliding table 5 are shown in FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, a main body 13 is formed of a rigid member into a rectangular frame shape and has a rectangular opening 14 formed in the center;
A loaded ball 17 and an unloaded ball groove 1 are attached to the side surfaces of the wayway 1 on the left and right sides of the track 1 with fasteners 15 such as screws, and face the ball rolling groove 11 of the wayway 1 along the longitudinal direction.
The guide mechanism 2.4 interposed between the track base 1 and each sliding base 3.5 is composed of the bearing block 16 and a bearing block 16 formed with a bearing block 16 and a bearing block 16, respectively. A direction changing groove 21 is attached to both ends of the bearing block 16 with fasteners 19 such as screws, and communicates and connects the ball rolling groove 11, the loaded ball groove 11, and the unloaded ball groove 18 to form a ball endless track. It consists of a pair of side plates 2G equipped with Consists of linear guide ball bearings. In addition, each sliding table 3.
The body main body 13 constituting the sliding table 3.5 and the bearing block 16 constituting the guide mechanism 2.4 may be integrally formed.

Further, in this embodiment, the first and second linear motor mechanisms 6.7 each include a stator 30 and a movable element 40, and the stator 30 of the first linear motor 6 is located at the center section of the upper surface of the track base 1. A large number of teeth 31 that are integrally provided along the longitudinal direction and extend in the width direction are arranged for each pitchle 1. A large number of teeth 32 are provided integrally along the width direction and extend in the width direction with a pitch l)2 (p1≠E)2)
They are placed in each location. Further, the upper part of the opening 14 of the main body 13 of the first sliding table 3 is closed with a top plate 3B made of a plate spring as a flexible member, and the second sliding table 3
The lower part of the opening 14 of the body main body 13 is closed with a bottom plate 37 made of a leaf spring as a flexible member, and both the front and rear ends of the top plate 36 and the bottom plate 37 have screws or the like attached to the front and rear sides of the body main body 13. At the same time, the movable member 40 of the first linear motor mechanism 6 is fixed to the lower surface side of the top plate 36.
A movable element 40 of the second linear motor mechanism 7 is fixed to the upper surface side of the bottom plate 37. In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 5, the movable element 40 includes a permanent magnet 41a and an excitation core 4 as its excitation part 41.
1b is adopted, and the teeth 3 of each stator 30 are provided on the bottom surface of the tip of this excitation core 41b.
1.32, a plurality of inductor teeth 41c are formed facing each other while maintaining a predetermined clearance. As the excitation method for each linear motor mechanism 6.7, a two-phase excitation method is adopted that can obtain high thrust, has little damped vibration, and can respond to a wide frequency range. The movable element 40 of each linear motor mechanism 6.7 is adapted to move, for example, by 1/4 pitch I), p2 per one manual pulse, depending on the respective excitation direction.

Therefore, according to the linear guide device according to the first embodiment,
For example, if the second sliding table 5 is fixedly installed on a fixed bed (not shown), the first sliding table 3 is linearly guided along the track table 1 and restrained and held at a predetermined position.

Now, when linearly guiding the first sliding table 3 along the track 1, the stator 30 and mover 4 of each linear motor mechanism 6.
The voltage applied to the excitation part 41 of each movable element 40 is lowered to reduce the attraction force so that the attraction force exerted between Bye. At this time, a predetermined clearance is secured between the inductor teeth 41c of each movable element 40 and the teeth 31.32 of the stator 30, and the movable element 40 of each linear motor mechanism 6.7 is fixed. It is set to be movable relative to the child 30. In this state, each linear motor mechanism 6.7
If the excitation directions of each input pulse of stand 3
will move in the same direction by 1/4ρ1 with respect to the track 1, and the first sliding table 3 will move by 1/4 for each input pulse.
(While it will be fast-forwarded by p + p2>,
If the excitation direction for each input pulse of each linear motor mechanism 6.7 is mutually reversed, for each input pulse,
At the same time, the first sliding table 3 moves by 1/41) with respect to the second sliding table 5, and the first sliding table 3 moves by 1/41) with respect to the second sliding table 5.
The first sliding table 3 moves by 4p1 in the opposite direction to the moving direction of the track 1, and the first sliding table 3 has a difference of 1/4 (1)1-p2) for each input pulse with respect to the fixed bed. This results in a slight dynamic movement.

On the other hand, when the first sliding table 3 is restrained and held on the fixed bed, the suction force exerted between the stator 30 and the movable element 40 in each linear motion mechanism 6.7 is applied to the movable element. 4
A top plate 3 of a flexible member is attached to each slide table 3.5.
6. The attraction force may be increased by increasing the voltage applied to the movable member 40 until the elastic force becomes greater than the elastic force of the bottom plate 37. At this time, the top plate 36 and bottom plate 37 are elastically bent, and the inductor teeth 41c of each movable element 40 are attracted to @31.32 of the stator 30, and the clearance between them becomes zero, and each linear Motor mechanism 6
．． The maximum holding force is generated between each of the movable elements 40 and the stator 30, and each movable element 40 is fixed to the corresponding stator 30. Therefore, the track base 1 is fixed to the second slide base 5, the first slide base 3 is fixed to the track base 1, and the first slide base 3 is restrained and held on the fixed bed. It will be done.

Further, in this embodiment, the track base 1 and each sliding base 3.
Since the guide mechanism 2.4 between the track base 1 and the track base 5 is composed of linear guide ball bearings, the guide part is in rolling contact using the balls 22, which not only suppresses wear in the guide part but also allows Since the distance from the slide table 3.5 during linear guidance is kept constant, the thrust of each linear motor separate unit 6.7 becomes stable accordingly. Furthermore, in the guide mechanism 2.4, the ball rolling groove 1
1 and the load ball groove 17 are formed in a Gothic arch shape, even if each guide mechanism 2.4 is in a single row,
Since each ball contacts at four points, loads from above and floating loads are reliably supported. Therefore, there is no need to separately provide a guide mechanism in the thickness direction of the track base 1, and the situation in which the device itself becomes larger in the thickness direction can be effectively avoided.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, each linear motor mechanism 6.
The movable member 40, which is a component of 7, is structured to be stored in the opening 14 of the main body 13 in each speech and movement table 3.5, so that the device itself not only becomes thin and compact, but also It is possible to reduce the weight of each sliding table 3.5.

Next, a second embodiment shown in FIGS. 6 to 9 will be described.

The basic configuration of the linear guide device according to this embodiment is almost the same as that of the first embodiment, but the guide mechanism 2.4 interposed between the track base 1 and each sliding base 3.5 is Unlike the first embodiment,
Consists of linear guide roller bearings. The linear guide roller bearing used in this embodiment consists of a pair of guide rails 51.52 with V-shaped guide grooves 51a and 52a carved on opposing wall surfaces, and a pair of guide rails 51.52 interposed between the guide rails 51.52. The roller cage 53 has a large number of holding holes 55 in the longitudinal direction of a long retainer 54, and a large number of rows 556 are arranged in each holding hole 55 alternately orthogonally. The rollers 56 are rotatably held at an angle, and the end surfaces and circumferential surfaces of each roller 56 are brought into sliding contact with the V-shaped guide grooves 51a and 52a. Note that each guide rail 51.52 is attached to the track base 1 and each slide base 3.5 via fasteners 51.58 such as screws.

Therefore, the linear guide device according to this embodiment not only provides the same functions and effects as the first embodiment, but also provides the guide I
Compared to the case where linear guide ball bearings are used as the l structure 2.4, there is no need to construct an endless track for the balls (therefore, the structure of the guide mechanism 2.4 can be simplified.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the linear guide device according to the present invention, sliding bases are disposed on both sides of the track via the guide mechanism, and a pair of linear motor guide structures are used as the feeding mechanism. Since one sliding table is differentially fed with respect to the other sliding table, the basic effect is that fine movement and rapid movement can be performed with high precision without the need for a separate feeding mechanism. In addition, by simply changing the voltage applied to each linear motor mechanism, each sliding base can be fixed or unfixed to the track base, so each sliding base can be fixed to or unfixed to the track base. There is no need to separately provide a clamping device, etc. for fixing, which eliminates the need for installation space for the clamping device, etc., making it possible to make the device itself more compact and to reduce the device cost. The accuracy of the stopping operation of the slide table can also be made highly accurate without being affected by the accuracy of operation of the fixing means such as the clamp device.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an oblique view showing a first embodiment of a linear guide device according to the present invention. ll explanatory drawing, M2 drawing, and Fig. 3 are cross-sectional views taken along ■-■ lines and ■-■ lines in Fig. 1, Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along rV-rV lines in Fig. 2, and Fig. 5 relates to the embodiment. 6 and 7 are explanatory diagrams corresponding to FIGS. 2 and 3 showing a second embodiment of the linear guide device according to the present invention; FIGS. , Figures 8 and 9 are ■ in Figure 6.
FIG. Explanation of symbols (1)...Railway (2)...Guide mechanism (3>...First sliding table (4)...Guiding mechanism (5)...Second sliding table ( 6)...First linear motor mechanism (7)...Second linear motor mechanism (30)...Stator (40)...Movable element (36)...Top plate (flexible member ) (31)...Bottom plate (flexible member) Patent applicant Hiroyo Teramachi Patent attorney Katsuo Naruse (2 others) Figure 4 Figure 5

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1) A track base extending along the longitudinal direction, a first sliding base guided via a guide mechanism along one side of the track base in the longitudinal direction, and the other track bases described above. A second sliding table guided via a guide mechanism along the longitudinal direction of the front side, and a large number of teeth extending in the width direction provided on the first sliding table side of the track base along the longitudinal direction. and a first movable element having a plurality of excitation parts mounted on the first sliding table side with a predetermined clearance maintained between the first stator and the first stator. a first linear motor mechanism that drives the moving base; a second stator and a second sliding member provided on the second sliding base side of the track base along the longitudinal direction thereof and having a large number of teeth extending in the width direction; A second linear motor mechanism configured with a second mover having a plurality of excitation parts mounted on the base side with a predetermined clearance maintained between the second stator and the second stator, and driving the second sliding base. A linear guide device comprising: a movable element of each of the linear motor mechanisms described above is attached to each slide table via a flexible member. 2) The linear guide device according to claim 1, wherein the guide mechanism is a linear guide ball bearing having a large number of balls. 3) The linear guide device according to claim 1, wherein the guide mechanism is a linear guide roller bearing having a large number of rollers. 4) The linear guide device according to claim 1, wherein each slide table has an opening portion in which a mover of each linear motor mechanism is housed.